Remittances to private university students hit record low: union survey

April 6, 2017

The remittances to private university students in the Tokyo Metropolitan area have reached a new record low in the last three decades.

This was revealed by the survey results published on April 5 by the Tokyo Federation of Private University Faculty and Staff Unions. The union surveyed parents whose children entered 16 private colleges and universities located in Tokyo and five adjacent prefectures in 2016 and received nearly 5,000 responses.

The survey shows that the average of monthly remittances stood at 85,700 yen in 2016, down 1,000 yen from the previous year. This figure is an all-time low since the annual survey began in 1986.

The average of living costs, which are calculated by subtracting apartment rents from remittances, was also a record low of 790 yen a day. The amount dropped to about 30% of its peak of 2,460 yen in 1990.

Out of the respondents, 18% got into debt to cover the cost associated with entrance into private universities. Of them, 90% said that their debts are “heavy”.

Of those surveyed, 56.8% hoped to get a loan-type scholarship and 62% of them actually applied. Of those who gave up applying for the program, 33.5% cited repayment obligations as a reason.

The union federation pointed out that a grant-type scholarship program to be introduced in fiscal 2018 is “totally insufficient” in terms of both the number of eligible students and the amount of allowances. They demanded that the Abe government improve the scholarship program and substantially increase subsidies to private universities in order to reduce financial burdens on students and their parents.